10 Secret Video Game Features That Make NO Sense

3. Babalities & Animalities - Mortal Kombat

mortal kombat 3
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There’s probably no franchise with more ways to brutally off your opponents than Mortal Kombat, but in Mortal Kombat 2 & 3 respectively things got a little next level weird.

Babalities were introduced in Mortal Kombat 2 which would let players turn their opponents into a tiny little baby version of their character. To perform a Babality the player has to execute a particular button combination for their character and have won the final round using only a High or Low kick. In Mortal Kombat 3 you could only pull off the move if you completed the round without blocking.

It’s weird to say watching unique little baby animations doesn’t make any sense in a game where characters find increasingly creative ways to expose their foes' innards, but it’s especially bizarre in the context of Mortal Kombat. Babalities make a return in MK11 where every single character including bosses has a baby counterpart and each has a unique animation that generally evokes one of their signature traits. They can be activated by winning a round without blocking.

If, for some reason, you think cutesy baby animations do belong in MK, then let’s shift gears and cover Animalities, too.

Mortal Kombat 3 introduced us to Animalities, a finisher that would transform your player character into a vicious animal to maul your opponent to death. Each character turns into a different animal with equally unique ways of unaliving their foes. Animalities were actually another example of a fan rumour that the developers were aware of and later decided to include in the game for real.

Interestingly, though, Scorpion turns into a Penguin and not a Scorpion. Huh.

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Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.